Birthday boy blows off steam

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Godzilla arrives for a ceremony to receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Photo: Reuters

Godzilla celebrated his 50th birthday by breathing fire on
Tinseltown, as the Japanese movie monster was awarded his own star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Screams went up on Los Angeles' Hollywood Boulevard on Monday as
the slick black sea creature turned out to see himself immortalised
on its famous pavement along with the likes of movie royalty
Marilyn Monroe and Greta Garbo.

Godzilla received the 2,271st bronze-edged star on the Walk of
Fame to commemorate both the 50th anniversary of his first film as
well as the premiere of his latest offering, Godzilla Final
Wars.

Godzilla - an ancient sea monster resurrected by nuclear weapons
testing - made his debut in Japan in 1954.

He made his US bow two years later when the film was released as
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in which scenes with Raymond
Burr as American reporter Steve Martin were added to the original
picture.

Fourteen more Godzilla films would be made in the 21 years until
1975, and frequent television showings of the films would make
Godzilla popular in the North America.

A new series of films was launched in 1984.

Godzilla Final Wars is the 29th film in the celebrated
cult series that also includes the 1998 US version set in New York
City, which some unimpressed Godzilla aficionados refer to as
"Godzilla in name only".

Japan's Tsutomu Kitagawa, 46, has donned the Godzilla suit since
1999 and is the third actor since the monster first stormed the
screen on November 3, 1954.